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Overview

The new edition of this leading reader for courses in American foreign policy offers students an up-to-date, highly accessible introduction to the broad array of domestic factors influencing U.S. policymakers. Editor James M. McCormick has carefully selected two dozen current insightful and sometimes controversial essays by a distinguished group of leading experts— scholars, journalists and public officials—including 11 new and 7 updated contributions.

In his introduction, McCormick evaluates the challenges facing U.S. foreign policy makers in recent years and assesses the Obama Administration’s successes and failures in its efforts to pursue a new direction in American foreign policy. The volume is then divided into three major parts with an opening essay by the editor to place each part in context and then a selection of essays that analyzes the topic in that part in more detail. Part I, "The Societal Environment," contains a series of articles on the position of interest groups, the impact of military experience, the effect of public opinion, and the role of elections and political parties on foreign policy. Part II, "The Institutional Setting," examines how various political institutions, such as Congress, the presidency, and various bureaucracies (e.g., the National Security Council, the intelligence community) shape American foreign policy. Part III, "Decision makers and Their Policymaking Positions," provides various case analyses over several administrations to illustrate how individuals and bureaucracies affect the foreign policy decision making at the highest levels of government.

What People Are Saying

Dorle Hellmuth

In keeping with the high standard of previous volumes, this sixth and thoroughly updated edition is yet another invaluable resource for students of U.S. foreign policy. First-rate contributions by policymakers and scholars offer complementary perspectives about the various societal, institutional, and individual factors that shape American foreign policy and drive decision-making processes. I highly recommend this book to both undergraduate and graduate students as well as anyone seeking to develop a comprehensive understanding of the domestic sources of American foreign policy.

Editorial Reviews

Dorle Hellmuth

In keeping with the high standard of previous volumes, this sixth and thoroughly updated edition is yet another invaluable resource for students of U.S. foreign policy. First-rate contributions by policymakers and scholars offer complementary perspectives about the various societal, institutional, and individual factors that shape American foreign policy and drive decision-making processes. I highly recommend this book to both undergraduate and graduate students as well as anyone seeking to develop a comprehensive understanding of the domestic sources of American foreign policy.

Meet the Author

EDITOR James M. McCormick is professor and chair of the department of political science at Iowa State University.

CONTRIBUTORS

Gordon Adams is a Professor in the U.S. Foreign Policy Program at the School of International Service at American University and a Distinguished Fellow at the Stimson Center.

Adam J. Berinsky is Associate Professor of Political Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Hillary Rodham Clinton is the U.S. Secretary of State in the Obama administration.

I.M. (Mac) Destler is the Saul I. Stern Professor at the School of Public Policy,
University of Maryland and He is co-author, with Ivo H. Daalder, of In the Shadow of the Oval Office: Profiles of the National Security Advisers and the Presidents They Served—from JFK to George W. Bush (Simon & Schuster, 2009).

Peter D. Feaver is the Professor of Political Science, Director of the Triangle Institute for Security Studies, and Director of the Program in American Grand Strategy at Duke University.

Louis Fisher is Scholar in Residence withthe Constitution Project and worked from 1970 to 2010 as Senior Specialist in Separationof Powers for Congressional Research Service at the Library of Congress and as Specialist in Constitutional Law with theLaw Library.

Christopher F. Gelpi is Professor of Political Science at Duke University.

James Goldgeier is Professor of Political Science and International Affairs at The George Washington University.

Patrick J. Haney is Professor of Political Science at Miami University (Ohio).

Seymour M. Hersh is a Washington-based investigator journalist and a regular contributor to The New Yorker on military and national security issues.

Robert Jervis is Adlai E. Stevenson Professor of International Politics at Columbia University.

Christopher M. Jones is professor of political science and associate vice provost for university honors at Northern Illinois University and served as president of the Foreign Policy Analysis Section of the International Studies Association, 2008-2010.

Matthew Leatherman is a Research Associate for the Stimson Center’s Budgeting for Foreign Affairs and Defense Program.

James M. Lindsay is Senior Vice President, Director of Studies, and Maurice R. Greenberg Chair at the Council on Foreign Relations

Ryan Lizzi is the Washington correspondent for The New Yorker.

Walter Russell Mead is James Clarke Chace Professor of Foreign Affairs and the Humanities at Bard College and Editor-at-Large of The American Interest.

John Mearsheimer is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago

Michael Nelson is the Fulmer Professor of Political Science at Rhodes College and a senior fellow at the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs.

Miroslav Nincic is Professor of Political Science at the University of California at Davis.

Joseph S. Nye is University Distinguished Service Professor and former dean of the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Philip A. Russo is Professor of Political Science and Director of the Center for Public Management and Regional Affairs at Miami University.

Steve Smith is Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Exeter.

The late James C. Thomson, Jr., was professor emeritus of journalism, history, and international relations at Boston University.

Stephen Walt is the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Jon Western is Five College Associate Professor of International Relations at Mount Holyoke College and the Five Colleges.

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